Jail bed lease problem

By Tony Lascari tlascari@mdn.net

Published 11:29 am, Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Midland County hasn’t been able to rent out as many beds at the new jail as it expected in its budget projections, forcing an adjustment to the sheriff’s budget for the past three months and a reduction in the price the county will charge to house inmates.

The county sought to house inmates from other counties at a rate of $35 per night, but lower rates will be needed to attract municipalities to rent the space. So far, two pods at the new jail remain empty, meaning money that was expected to be coming in isn’t. And that means cuts are necessary to make up for the shortfall.

County Administrator/Controller Bridgette Gransden said part of the shortfall will be made up by spending more money than was expected for jail debt payments this year from the excess bond proceeds. Changes to the sheriff’s department budget, which were proposed by Sheriff Jerry Nielsen’s office and county officials, also include lowering overtime for the road patrol division, postponing the purchase of three patrol cars, saving from position vacancies and other reductions to expenses.

Commissioner Howard Schoenherr expressed concerns about seeing items such as ammunition being cut in the budget.

“This is really getting close to the bone, isn’t it?” he said.

Gransden said the budget is getting tight but hopefully help is around the corner.

“We’re starting to get our foot in the door with the boarding of inmates,” she said.

She said the county is going to pursue housing federal inmates, which could bring a higher pay rate. “We’re not going to wait as originally planned,” she said.

Nielsen said delaying the purchase of new cars was acceptable because of the good condition of the current fleet. He said shifts are scheduled to offer protection for residents.

“We’re trying to maintain our level of personnel at those high priority times,” he said.

The department can get by on current funding levels for a few more months, Nielsen said.

“We have to think something going to happen soon,” he said of renting more beds.

The county commission on Tuesday approved lowering the rate that beds can be rented from $35 to a figure to be set by the administrator/controller and the sheriff. The commission opted not to set a specific price as originally proposed at $27 so that the sheriff would have more flexibility.

Commissioner Howard Schoenherr objected, saying the county commission should have the final say on the rate since it will be held responsible on the success of the jail.

A few commissioners stressed the importance of public safety and said they were concerned about the cuts to the department. Commissioner Otis Wilson said the sheriff has been engaged in the process and hopefully more beds can be rented in the coming months.

“We have to be competitive in order to generate any funds in this area,” he said.